Submarine boat



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. B. GERBER. SUBMARINE BOAT.

No; 406,725. Patented J u1y9, 1889.

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2 un EM BB m E Gm No. 406,725. Patented July 9, 1889;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEAN BAPTIsTE GERBER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

SUBMARINE BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,725, dated July 9, 1889.

Application filed January 3, 1888. Serial No. 259,753. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEAN BAPTISTE GERBER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Boats;

and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in boats designed as life and diving boats; and it consists in certain constructions and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the boatwith the deck removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the divers compartment, and Fig. 3 is a section on the lin ac to of Fig. 2.

The boat A may be of any suitable form and construction adapting it for use as a lifeboat or for diving purposes, the boat being covered by an arched deck A, the latter being shown broken away, except at the ends.

\Vithin the boat, and preferably nearer to the stern than to the bow, is a water-chamber B, having pipes O communicating with the exterior of the boat. This chamber is pro- Vided with a plunger or piston D, by means of which water may be admitted to the chamber to overcome the buoyancy of the boat and cause it to sink, or discharged to cause the boat to rise when sunk. This chamber may be of any suitable construction and the piston operated in any known manner.

Projecting above the deck A at the stern is a cupola or dome E, provided with glasscovered openings F, one of which may be so arranged as to form a means of exit or entrance to the interior of the boat. This onpola E forms a lookout station for the steersman. A rudder G is hung at the stern in the usual manner and is operated by ropes II, which pass through the sides of the boat to a windlass I, located at a convenient point in front of the steersman, so that he can manipulate the rudder while his head is in the cupola. The ropes H, at the points where they pass into the boat, are surrounded by flexible sleeves K, which form water-tight connect-ions the said sleeves to handle anythingthatmay be on the deck, and yet not introduce water into the interior of the boat. A compass M is placed within the boat in a position convenient to the steersman.

Extending across the boat is a shaft N, passing through water-tight bearings in the sides and carryingpaddle-wheels 0. Within the boat the shaft is provided with meanssuch as the tappets P-for turning it. By this means the boat may be moved through the water when floating on the surface. At various points along the sides of the boat are glass-covered openings R, through which the persons within may see into the water.

Near one or more of the openings on each side are sleeves S, similar in construction and purpose to the sleeves. L, before described.

On each side near the bow of the boat are paddles or oars T, the handles of which extend to the interior, and are there surrounded by flexible sleeves U. The said sleeves form a water-tight connection with the paddles without interfering with their freedom of ino-, tion. These paddles serve to propel the boat when submerged, and also to directits course.

In the bow of the boat is a divers compartment. (Shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3.) It consists of an outer shell V, having two openings TV and X, the former opening into the interior of the boat and the latter opening into a compartment Y in the extreme bow, and an inner shell Z, provided with corresponding openings B and C. The shell Z is movable concentrically within the outer shell, and the openings are so arranged that when the openings NV and B are matched the opening X is closed,and vice versa.

It will be seen that a diver may enter the compartment from the boats interior through the openings Vt and B, and then by turning the inner shell so that the openings X and C coincide he may pass to the compartment Y, and thus be on the exterior of the boat, as

the said latter compartment opens outwardly. The bottom of the shell Z opens into a chamber D, the opening being normally closed by a valve or plug E. The chamber D in turn opens in to a pump F, which latter discharges through an opening G to the exterior of the boat. When the boat is submerged and the diver at work, the compartment Z is filled with water, and is emptied by the pump F before the diver can enter the interior of the boat. The pump F is on the interior of the boat, and is operated by one of the occupants.

The compartment Y is separated from the boats interior by wings I-I,.(better shown in i with a paddle K, which operates in conjunction with the paddles T. The handle of the paddle K extends into the compartment Y, and is manipulated by the diver. The boat is surrounded by lite-lines L, which at night are illuminated by lamps M within the boat, the light shining through the openings R adjacentto the lamps. It will thus be seen that the boat may be used as a life-boat, and also asv a submarine boat.

It is desirable that the diver should carry a supply of compressed air in some cases rat-her than use the air pipes and pump, and the boat is also to carry asupply of compressed air when submerged. By this means the diver can stay under water many hours; and I may use electricity as a motive power in compressing the air for use.

The boat may be managed by one person, who can propel it in the course required and dive and raise it.

Having described my invention, what I claim is A submarine. life-saving boat having a closed deck fore and aft, except at the point Y, a stationary vertical cylinder V, provided with lateral wings H, forming sealed partitions between the interior of the boat and the exterior chamber Y, the windows I in said wings, the inlet 03, and the outlet W, provided in said cylinder, the internal rotative cylin-,

der Z, provided with apertures C and B, and an air-inlet and an air-storage drum communicating with the internal cylinder through its bottom, all constructed and adapted to operate as specified.

JEAN BAPTISTE GERBER.

Witnesses:

JOHN G. NIGGLE, M. RUEF. 

